Blast From The Past
The article below is a blast from the past that was circulated the LAST time someone tried to decertify our union, but the facts contained in this article have not changed. We’ve worked under our 2nd contract, and now ready to negotiate our 3rd. Read on:
With our first contract coming due, it’s no surprise that the rumors are swirling about a possible attempt at decertifying our union may be getting underway. After all, what better way can the company erode our bargaining power?
After a four year battle to get our first contract, it’s understandable that some may feel apprehensive at going back to the bargaining table. This is especially true if you are one of the members who never attends union meetings, don’t visit your unions website, or Facebook page to have a more informed idea about what 304 does for you.
Regardless of what our union accomplishes, it will always be the last thing it failed to do that many members will remember. It’s always, “what have you done for me lately?”
We’ve had our contract twisted, ignored, and outright violated ever since we ratified it. Your union officers have fought a never ending battle, through three administrations, through the grievance process, arbitration, and the National Labor Relations Board in an effort to represent the membership and enforce our CBA.
When we ceased being Allegheny, there was a lot of uncertainty and fear. Many senior management decided to jump ship, and taking their place are the managers we now have, many of whom we remember as being some of the loudest pro-union voices in past organizing drives.
Harrison organizing had a profound effect on our managers, especially when Allegheny Energy, and their managers and supervisors were, and remain, rabidly anti-union.
These are the same people who withheld our variable pay and cost of living raises for over a year post merger, setting off a long battle that resulted in a $1.25 million dollar settlement paid out to our members. The same folks who play games with time cards to cheat members, just to see who would file a grievance and who wouldn’t. These are the same ones who fired an employee who had an accident and the union fought to have him reinstated.
The company can blame fear of the membership for voting to be represented by the UWUA, but that fear is nothing compared to the terror experienced by those who had sold their very souls to the company.
This fact is borne out by the actions of the people in charge at the plant. They make mountains out of mole hills, out of someone being a few minutes late, or how and when someone called off, or made a request for a day off. Any reason they could seize on so they could run up the chain of command and show our new owners how true blue they are; real team players, totally supporting the new regime.
Now the cycle is starting over. Our contract is coming due in 2018 (now 2022) and SOMEONE is trying to weaken our bargaining power with yet another decertification drive.
What are they thinking?
That’s easy to guess. They think that they have hired enough young, and to their way of thinking naiveté, employees to weaken union support and those staunch supporters in the union must be getting tired with all the infighting, rumor-mongering, and dirty tricks we’ve had to fight since ratifying our first (and second) contract.
We’ve been a union since 2010, but are still learning everyday how to BE a union. The company has actually helped us in this by pulling all the stupid, vindictive, and petty stunts they have pulled. They taught 304 one of the MOST important lessons, which is how to FIGHT for our members.
Now, the same people that played games with your timecards and cheated you out of your earnings, who no longer honored long standing past practice just to try to exert dominance over you, and nitpicked against union supporters, while at the same time feeding their rats, want you to believe that they can be trusted to be the sole arbiter of your working life.
Make no mistake, without a UNION; you are an “employee-at-will.”
This means you can be fired at anytime with no just cause, and if you don’t like the rules and policies then you are free to seek employment elsewhere.
Being UNION grants you specific rights and protects you if you exercise those rights. You have a special and unique legal status by being in a union. This is why corporations are spending BILLIONS to break them.
We work for a company who is flirting with bankrupting one of its own subsidiaries in an attempt to survive. They have shuttered almost every plant they owned; including the ones acquired through the merger, and has shown what projects have priority by the ones the boast about. They shown a questionable commitment in continuing in the generation business.
It was always said that Allegheny was only attractive because of the transmission they owned, not the plants. It seems this has been proved to be true.
The tact the company is trying this time is, “decertify 304 and go with the IBEW.”
Make no mistake, if you vote to decertify your union, there will not be one to replace it. You will have offended every union supporter who fought to make us Utility Workers, and will learn the truth too late that the company’s real position is that NO UNION is a good union.
As far back as 2008, the committee responsible for organizing Harrison looked at both the IBEW and the UWUA. What we found was that being in the UWUA gave us more autonomy to run our Local as we see fit. We wanted to elect our officers, not have them appointed, and most of all we did not want to be in conflict with other trades unions who may come onsite as contractors.
This is not to say there is anything wrong with our union Brothers and Sisters in the IBEW, it’s just that we thought, and still do, that the Utility Workers is a better fit for us.
Ever since, the Utility Workers have justified that vote of confidence, even in the present political anti-union environment.
So take a hard look at the facts. Our union’s integrity is intact. You’ve been told the truth, at least the truth as we understood it at the time. It didn’t matter if that truth was good news or bad. When the union made mistakes, we admitted it, and when we won we were graceful, not boastful.
If you are offered a card for decertification, consider the hand offering it. Would you want that person as your boss?
Is the person the type to help a friend, or are they only for themselves.
Ask yourself if they have success in their life?
I may not know the shadowy agents circulating in our membership, but we know who they are working for and who will benefit from a decertification, and it’s NOT YOU!
Your union officers are all family men who give freely of their time in representing all of us. They have wives, children, and even grandchildren. They have house and car payments, they worry about their kids, have chores waiting for them after a hard days work.
They do what they do because 304 is something they believe in.
That’s what it is to be union, a belief in the goodness of each other.
Believe in each other
The way to strengthen our bargaining power doesn’t lie in which union we are with, it lays in our solidarity as a union. It may sound corny, but YOU are THE UNION, and when we stick together as a united front we are invincible.
Nobody WANTS a Union!
Nobody wants a union. Seems an odd statement to show up on any Local’s website; a bold, declarative statement that kicks open the mind of the reader and sparks the thought process of any sane union member. So let’s examine it!
Having a union means you have to pay dues, even though it’s a proven fact that union members earn almost 30% more in wages and benefits than unorganized, non-union workers. Union members are also more apt to have protected health and retirement benefits.
Having a union means that you have to attend union meetings, where some members too often whittle and fritter away the time arguing over things specific only to their department, or even worse, to just them. It’s easy to forget the important issues that get hashed out.
Having a union means you have to decide and vote on those fellow friends and co-workers who will lead your union, and in what capacity. They could be a steward, treasurer, trustee, or even the President. You have to show up and then pick and choose the unlucky devil, and then see them sentenced them to a thankless job filled with endless meetings with the company and members who don’t know the difference between a gripe and a grievance for three years!
So what having a UNION means is that you have the opportunity and responsibility of taking an active role in matters concerning your employment, your future, and for some that may be too much to ask or they may not appreciate the say being a union member affords them.
No, the truth is that nobody WANTS a union, that is until they NEED it! 
As Utility Workers, we are responsible for million of dollars of equipment that must run to provide a vital service to the communities and people we serve, and we work for one of the nation’s most powerful and influential business sectors in the American economy; the energy sector. They have layers upon layers of disposable executives and mid-level managers, whole divisions of lawyers and lobbyists, and social, political, and business connections that form a solid shield of scapegoats that protects them from all responsibility or liability.
The rest of the workforce are simply tools the company use, and anybody who’s ever been in a technical trade knows that a bad mechanic always blames his tools. Like any tool, you are used until you break or a better tool comes along.
One of our Local’s biggest problems that many of us in the energy sector face is the huge turnover in people. Once one of the oldest worker demographic, we’ve been deluded with fresh young faces while seasoned and experienced workers retire. Not only does the knowledge and talent go with them, but so does he historical and mature intellect of that union member in matters concerning the company and union.
Soon, too few present members know of the struggles and issues that came before them and their are too few “old” members left to teach them.
For instance, they don’t fully understand the benefit of legal standing being a union member working under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) affords them, nor do they understand that it’s every union member’s responsibility to enforce the CBA. Too many times union members see things they should bring to the attention of their union representative, but blow it off. Too many times union members hesitate to stand up and say something or file a grievance when faced with situations that violate the CBA. Too many times union members that do their job and the look out for the union’s interests are allowed to be single out as troublemakers with targets on their backs.
Unions love to talk about the old days, especially in West Virginia which has some of the most violent histories and colorful characters ever known. They brag how workers had to overcome violence, prejudice, and cultural barriers to convince the workers to unite for the common good. While they revel in the stories of past victories, unions have a blind spot for the lessons learned by their foes in business
Chambers of Commerce are more prevalent in cities all over our country, like union halls used to be, because those in charge learned how to organize and unite. This gives them more resources to hire those to teach their front line managers how to concoct reasonable sounding lies, manipulate, and divide and conquer over their employees. They would readily agree that, “nobody needs a union.”
UWUA Local 304 is only a little over a decade old. We’re still evolving and maturing as a union members, but we’ll all get there together!
Read about UWUA Local 304’s journey to becoming YOUR union by clicking here!
Union Members Legal Recognition
It’s easy to sit back and complain and ask what your union dues actually do for you. The answer is even easier; your status as a union member gives you protected legal status under federal law.
Here is a brief rundown of some of the main laws that enshrine your rights as a union member:
1932 Norris–LaGuardia Act
- Stated that workers had a legal right to organize
- Made it more difficult to get injunctions against peaceful union activities
Before this act, union organizers, ,supporters, and sympathizers were labelled “Reds”, “agitators”, and were often harassed, beaten, and even killed for attempting to organize a union.
1935 National Labor Relations Act (or Wagner Act)
- Made it illegal for employers to discriminate based on union membership
- Established the National Labor Relations Board to investigate unfair labor practices
- Established a voting procedure for workers to certify a union as their bargaining agent
- Required employers to recognize certified unions and bargain with them in good faith 1938 FLSA
- Banned many types of child labor
- Established the first federal minimum wage (25 cents per hour)
- Established a standard 40-hour workweek
- Required that hourly workers receive overtime pay when they work in excess of 40 hours per week
This is the Act that gave unions the “teeth” to protect their members by providing a legal framework to address grievances and a legal remedy that hold employers accountable to he membership.
1947 Labor–Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act
- Identified unfair labor practices by unions and declared them illegal
- Allowed employers to speak against unions during organizing campaigns
- Allowed union members to decertify their union, removing its right to represent them
- Established provisions for dealing with emergency strikes that threatened the nation’s health or security
This Act hold unions responsible to the membership, as well as America’s union workers responsibility to national security in times and national crisis. This is because many of this nations most important industries rely on skilled union labor. This Act was considered anti-union at the time and is still controversial.
1959 Labor–Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (or Landrum–Griffin Act)
- Guaranteed rank and file union members the right to participate in union meetings
- Required regularly scheduled secret ballot elections of union officers
- Required unions to file annual financial reports
- Prohibited convicted felons and Communist Party members from holding union office
In the shadow of McCarthyism, this Act settled, once and for all, that workplace democracy is NOT socialism or communism, as many anti-union profiteers had long accused them of being.
Unions are often criticized as being “political”, but it’s in the political arena that union rights are kept and maintained. Many of these Acts were passed under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Administration, under his New Deal policies.
FDR ascended from American aristocracy, yet his New Deal programs made many wealthy and powerful men to accuse FDR and being a traitor to his class. There even many serious plots to depose FDR and replace him with a fascist, or puppet regime. These plots were heavily financed and well laid out by the powerful industrialists of the day (for more information, read Sally Denton’s The Plots Against The President).
All these laws have been under attack ever since, except those who wish to destroy organized labor learned lessons from union organizers and began multiple campaigns to control and manipulate information, fear, traditionalism, and righteous outrage of YOU, the individual worker and voter, to vote away your protections and rights.
As a union member, it is your duty, to yourself, your family, your union, and your country to be on guard against those who would spread “fake news”, lies, and conspiracies that may lead you astray.
Union members, as well as all Americans, know how to fight, and once committed to a fight, they are passionate, relentless, and strong in united voices. It’s important that we rally around the right things, based on solid facts, and act in solidarity by realizing the things that unite us far outweigh the the issues that our enemies use to try and divide us.
How To Be A Union
Your union has made every effort to make you aware of labor history, a neglected part of our American history, but now it’s time to look forward.
Union members have been the recognized professionals in all fields of trade craft. The reason is simple, they have the training, experience, and pride to do whatever job in whatever trade they are in, regardless of the circumstances. Union members are proud, tough, and honest working men and women who realize and accept the fact that they must work for a living, but also accept the responsibility that they have a duty to themselves, coworkers, and family to see that the work they perform is done correctly, safely, and has the kind of pay and benefits that make the trade off of time and skill worth it for them and their Brothers and Sisters.
The attributes that make up a good union member are those who make up any good person. The difference is that a union person expands these to his fellow union members the same way they would for family and closest friends. They include:
- Integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Unions deal with schemes hatched by those who may have questionable integrity, to the point of overt dishonesty. Our members must hold themselves and each other to a higher standard. If a union member is wrong, then the honorable thing to do is humbly admit it, own it, learn from it, and move on.
- Honesty: the foundation for trust in a relationship, and trust is necessary for a union to function and thrive. When you’re always honest with someone, it tells them that they can trust you and the things you say. It helps them know they can believe your promises and commitments.
- Fairness: impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination. All union members are not alike, but each one needs to be treated with the same deference as any other, without bias. This is regardless of political or social views a member may hold because those are the things union busters will try to use to divide the membership.
- Respect: is an attitude of considering someone else’s perspective and holding another fellow member in esteem. It’s shown by; listening to others, affirming people’s opinions, empathizing with different perspectives, disagreeing respectfully with being disagreeable, apologizing when you’re wrong, calling out disrespectful behavior, complimenting the achievements of others, and showing gratitude.
- Maturity: an emotionally mature person is always adding value to themselves and those around them. A curious and learning attitude form a key part of a mature persons daily activities and goals. They are able to understand and manage their own emotions. They also acknowledge that our common goals are more important than petty gripes and personality conflicts.
- Professionalism involves being reliable, setting your own high standards, and showing that you care about every aspect of your job. It’s about being industrious and organized, and holding yourself accountable for your thoughts, words and actions.
A union member knows themselves, their job, and that their union has their back. They don’t have to be afraid of the ‘boss’, and know that they can call on a fellow union member for help. A union Brother/Sister stands up for each other. Most of all, union workers forgive each other, when needed.
All the above may seem a tall order for someone who’s young, making more money than they ever dreamed possible, and may question what a union can do for them. The answer is simple, even if you dismiss everything above, and that is you are blessed with a good job that pays well and gives you a path into the ranks of America’s middle class, a place union membership created.
Question is, “is your job worth protecting?”
There comes a time in every working persons life when they must take stock of themselves and the people they work with. By doing this, they set their own opinions and make moral and social adjustments in whom they confer and confide with and those they don’t. This requires and honest evaluation of one’s own wants, needs, and desires, and leads to the same examination of these in others.
A union works for the betterment of ALL it’s members, and each true union member should do the same. If you work with someone who consistently plants doubts about your union in your ear or those in your crew, and even openly attacks your union, it may be time to examine their motivations.
You have tools to help you overcome and develop within your union. One is your Collective Bargaining Agreement. Your CBA forms the foundation of your union. Your duty is to know it and enforce it when the company deviates from it. You can do this by confronting management directly (with another union member as a witness), through your steward, or by utilizing the grievance procedure in your CBA. In support of the CBA is your union’s website, which has a lot of information for our members, as well as your union’s Facebook page.
Your National Union, Local Union, it’s officers, and affiliates are the only mechanisms in place that fights for you. It is up to you to fight for it because without solidarity, there is no union.
Your union is what you make of it!
You Against “The MATRIX”!
Working for a multi-billion dollar corporation puts you at an extreme disadvantage if, somewhere along the line, you and the company should have a disagreement. After all, the company employs a whole department of legal professionals in every legal area in which they presently or may operate. This vast network also has all the consultants, advisors, paralegals, and clerical staff to make sure he company is protected from any kind of malfeasance, negligence, or responsibility in the things it does to do business in the manner they see fit. This means externally, with customers, regulators, municipalities, and state and federal government officials; as well as internally, like dealing with unions, contracts, and employees.
In furtherance of the latter, the company’s legal teams weave a web, or “matrix”, of company policies, programs, and guidelines that you, as an employee, must follow when doing your job. Each one of these rules and regulations form a gauntlet you have to run each day as an employee, and are usually cloaked with religious fervor under the word and term, “SAFETY.”
Trouble is, almost NO HUMAN can know, adhere, and navigate this “matrix” and get any job done. The company knows this because they designed the system to ensnare you if something should happen while you are at work. No matter how conscientious, responsible, or cautious you may be, it only takes one slip to start a chain of actions that, in the end, will ALWAYS find YOU at fault.
If there is one and only one reason why it’s so important to have a union, this is it!
Without a union, you can sue the company. In the end you’ll end up terminated, usually for no cause, and then spend the next decade fighting them in court until any settlement you reach will be a zero sum gain after the lawyers and creditors you couldn’t pay while fighting come looking to collect. This happens all the time, and especially so among large corporations.
A union will bring all the resources, local, national, and even international that they have in coming to your defense, and, if not successful, protect your job and assist the private counsel if you decide to fight on your own.
Take the time to study your Personal Safety Manual, and read up on the tenants of Human Performance and behavior based safety. After you get done with that, pull up the company’s Corporate Policy Letters, and take a closer look at the “safety” programs they have published for all employees too see.
The company is betting you won’t bother, which is why one of the first statements to employees is that ignorance of this material is no excuse for violating any of them.
Think about this the next time you tag something out, or put a wrench on a bolt, or have to fill out a form for line breaking or hot work. Confined spaces and equipment operating procedures are perfect examples of signatures being more important than safety. How many liquid transfer papers do operators fill out for lime, urea, acid, oil, hydrogen, and other bulk deliveries.
Each one is a potential grenade that could go off in the hand of the person holding it.
It’s All About Protecting Our Members Rights!
Many of you may or may not know that our union has recently arbitrated a long-standing grievance involving an employee with twenty-five years of combined service with Allegheny Energy and First Energy. This employee worked shift work in plant operations for fifteen years, advancing all the way to the “A” Operator’s position, and then bid to maintenance for an additional 10 years.
This employee also witnessed the birth of UWUA Local 304 and served our union faithfully as a Steward and as the Secretary Treasurer. The trouble started when this employee was being “resource shared” at Fort Martin in September 2018.
The employee fell from a platform, injuring his shoulder. The employee reported it, as required. This touched off a series of events that were as unimaginable as they were unwarranted. That’s when the employee engaged our union by filing a grievance.
Previous to the accident, our union fought the company over the forced use of the now infamous “Form 709″. The union had argued that this medical related form that gave the company unfettered access to an employees’ ENTIRE medical history. The union fought and won in a previous arbitration that Local 304 members were EXEMPT from the offending form and made it clear that the company had no right to an employees’ entire medical history or even a specific diagnosis about a member’s condition when they use, they’re contractually guaranteed sick time (remember-others lost this defined benefit, replaced by PTO).
For some time after 2017, the company was still slipping 304 members the 709 form, and the employee/grievant received the disputed form and returned it as requested. Once the company had wrongfully granted access to the employees’ entire medical history, they denied the employee the overtime that he usually would’ve worked and later would not even allow the grievant to return to work.
Over the next two years, the union, on behalf of the grievant, and the company wrangled while the grievant was bounced from company doctor to company doctor. Two of the company’s doctors even cleared the grievant to return to work. Regardless of what each doctor’s notes said, none of them were good enough to allow the aggrieved employee to return to work. All the while, the grievant used up his full- and half-time sick pay, his PAD days, and all of his vacation days. He was being starved out.
The grievant was allowed, briefly, to return to work. Another grievance was filed in an effort to get the employee paid for the work; plus, overtime he was wrongfully denied. Essentially, our union wanted the grievant ‘made whole”. The employee retired in disgust in 2020, but our union fought on.
In the end, our retiree/grievant Brother was MADE WHOLE as the union requested in its’ grievance. The award granted by the arbitrator reads as follows:
The grievance is granted. The Company failed to prove it had just cause for the de facto
suspension of the Grievant when it took him off work on October 30, 2018.
1. The Company is ordered to compensate the Grievant for economic losses he
suffered as a result of being removed from work.
2. The Grievant is to be compensated effective February 22, 2019 until the date he
returned to work, December 4, 2019.
3. Compensation includes lost pay at straight time for all regular hours of work that he
would ordinarily have been assigned, as well as the paid time off the Grievant used
to supplement his income, such as vacation and personal absence days.
4. Lost pay shall include any wage increases the Grievant would have received had he
not been removed from work and any lost overtime from February 22 to December
4, 2019.
5. The parties are to meet and attempt to determine the amount of compensation and
other make whole relief owed to the Grievant from February 22 to December 4,
2019. The Arbitrator retains jurisdiction for 90 days to resolve any issues as to this
remedy only.
So, what does old grievances from a now retired employee have to do with present day 304 members?
The answer is that the Utility Workers Union of America, through its’ Local 304, is always looking to protect your rights. In this case, it’s the right to keep your personal and private medical information in your control and not allow anyone, not even our employer, to abuse those rights for their own ends.
The grievance process is one of the most important tools we, as members, have in defining and enforcing our collective bargaining agreement, as this arbitration and award proves.
Our contract gives management certain rights to run the business as they see fit, most of which are codified under the section called “Management Rights”. However, even these broad and far-reaching rights do not give management the right to abuse our members rights, either collectively or by singling one of our own out.
As a union, UWUA Local 304 may not always win, but we will always fight for you!
Work/Life Balance M.O.U.
Check out our latest Memorandum Of Understanding which gives our members added flexibility in work schedules! The entire document is available by going to “304 Resources“, check it out!
Steward’s Corner: What to Do When Your Union Leaders Break Your Heart
Article used with permission and grateful appreciation as it appeared in Labor Notes # 491. This post is not meant to denigrate or disparage any Officer, or member of UWUA Local 304, the UWUA National, or the AFL-CIO and affiliates.
This post is meant as a warning to those union members who, over time, may grow to take they’re union for granted, or think solidarity and participation by them is not necessary.
Labor Notes/ Steward’ Corner February 14, 2020 / Ellen David Friedman
If you’re a union member, unfortunately the chances are good that you’ve had, or will have, your heart broken at least once by one of your own leaders.
Maybe it happened when you first tried to get active in your union, but found that leaders didn’t welcome you into their inner circle. You wondered whether there was some special skill you lacked, and you ended up confused and self-doubting. Maybe you just gave up.
Or possibly you brought an issue to your leaders—something that was serious to you and your co-workers—but were ignored, or treated with disdain, or told “there’s nothing we can do.” Or you worked long and hard to reach apparently apathetic co-workers and finally got traction on a specific goal, only to be undercut, abandoned, or straight-up sold out by union leaders.
When this happens, it can feel pretty harsh. You’re not only disappointed with these leaders, but also wondering how it is that your union, an organization that exists to make your work life better, is in the hands of people who aren’t doing that.
I encourage you to recommit to your union and to change the culture into one where leaders respect and serve their members. And, if your current leaders can’t or won’t serve their members with more respect, then start making plans to recruit and support candidates for union office who will.
HOW WE GOT HERE
If you’re bursting with organizing ideas and union leaders shut you down, often it’s not because they hate you. More likely, your ideas make no sense to them.
People serving in union office tend to follow the rules of the system they inherit. Maybe they’re clinging to familiar old patterns because they’re overwhelmed, underprepared, or beset by pressures from different constituencies. Maybe they think the union’s power is limited to filing grievances, and they have little experience about how to do things differently.
How did things get to be this way, and how can we change it? It’s useful to zoom out for a moment to consider the effects of the 40-year corporate offensive known as neoliberalism.
During certain periods—the 1930s and ’40s, and the late ’60s and ’70s—both union power and the push for union democracy were strong. Members were typically more active and more ready to fight. They also felt they should have more of a say in their own unions.
But starting in the 1980s, unions suffered a series of defeats, growing weaker and weaker. During the same period, more and more union leaders began to discourage, or even actively suppress, members’ initiative and willingness to fight. The idea of “keeping the peace” with the boss became dominant—when exactly the opposite strategy was needed to fight the corporate onslaught.
CULTURE OF SECRECY
Sadly, plenty of union leaders believe that unions should be top-down, with a small group controlling all the important information, decisions, and actions. How many times have you heard that grievances can’t be discussed with the membership because of “confidentiality”? How often are months of contract negotiations reduced to a terse report that “progress is being made on Article 17, Section 5”?
This withholding of information isn’t required by law; it’s just widespread in union culture and practice. The effect is to keep members uninformed and distant from decision-making.
These kinds of leaders likely have many explanations about why member engagement won’t work: “Members don’t come to meetings,” “They don’t read their email,” “They are complacent,” “They expect me to do everything,” “They are scared,” “They only care about their own problems.”
Rather than take responsibility to educate, consult, and engage members, they dismiss the members’ essential role.
The underlying dynamic in locals like this is disrespect. Leaders don’t trust the members, and therefore disregard them. Members feel disdained and excluded, and therefore withdraw.
Such a hollowed-out union is weak because it poses no real threat to the boss. If the only person the boss needs to contend with is a union president, because no one else ever shows up, then the boss will conclude that he just needs to satisfy the president. This can become a system of “exchanging favors” rather than “contending for power.”
A strong union needs competent leaders who invite member engagement and help to give it focus. It also needs active members who can bring their aspirations, creativity, and power to any initiative.
GET CONCRETE
If your leaders aren’t the ones you hoped for, it may be up to you to change the culture and shape the future of your union. The first step is to get past disappointment or despair. Commit to action.
As in any union situation, don’t act alone. Talk to other co-workers. Your purpose isn’t to convince anyone, but to ask questions. For example:
- How do you think we’re doing, as a union?
- Are you able to get information and questions answered?
- Have you been active in the union, or tried to get active? What was that like?
- Are there things you’d like to see the union doing?
If you get a sense that others share your heartbreak, get yourself ready to talk directly with the union leaders. It’s important that this not be an emotional confrontation. Be calm, curious, and respectful.
Be prepared with concrete examples of what you and others have experienced, and with suggestions for how things could be improved. For example, you could suggest that the union should:
- Schedule meetings more regularly, at times and places most accessible to members
- Seek input from members for the meeting agendas
- Use meetings not only for officer reports, but also to promote discussion
- Open up processes previously conducted “confidentially,” such as bargaining, grievance representation, labor-management meetings, and so on
FIGHTING ON TWO FRONTS
Your leaders may reject your suggestions. In fact, it’s wise to prepare yourself for some very tough sledding if you decide to challenge them.
They may feel you are assaulting their integrity or competence, or trying to “steal” their power. They might react defensively—or offensively. There are, sadly, endless stories of members who have been excluded from union activity or targeted, denigrated, or smeared by their own union leaders.
Sometimes union leaders even collude with management to bear down on a “troublemaker,” by which they mean someone who is trying to democratize the union and the workplace.
If so, stay steady, organize, and persevere. Be strategic rather than angry. Don’t attack the leader, or spread hostility. Instead, figure out a way to build a base and take action.
Find a cluster of other union members who are ready to do something. You could start by finding a workplace issue that co-workers care about, bringing them together to talk about it, and developing a plan for action.
You may want to keep your leaders informed, but don’t ask for their permission. If there’s inadequate information flowing in the union, start an informal channel to share and solicit ideas—but don’t let it become a gripe-fest; that is a short route to disaster. Reach out to other groups that should be allies—unions representing other workers in your workplace, or community organizations—and open up conversations about common concerns.
CONSIDER A CAUCUS
In the end, if you find that you can’t move your local in a more democratic, inclusive, and activist direction, you might consider starting a rank-and-file caucus to open up the question of what kind of union the members really prefer.
Rank-and-file caucuses have a long and proud tradition in U.S. unions. The last time caucuses were common was the 1970s, but now they’re popping up again, particularly in teacher unions.
A caucus is simply a group of members who are dedicated to improving their union. Often the motivation is a lack of transparency, or leaders’ unwillingness to fight, or too much coziness with the boss. A caucus can start by organizing around issues, and may end up challenging the existing leaders in union elections.
If you do decide to go down the caucus path, prepare yourself for a lot more heartbreak along the way. It’s likely the incumbent leaders (old guard, as they are commonly called) will accuse you of being divisive or even anti-union. Your motives will be questioned, and bogus accusations made about your methods. But efforts to democratize unions are essential to rebuilding our power, and worth every hard, uncomfortable, and heartbreaking moment. Stay steady!
Ellen David Friedman is a retired organizer for Vermont NEA and a member of the Labor Notes board.